The 411 On Why Being Vegan Is As Easy As Pie

Portabellas and cauliflower, two peas in a pod

Hey y’all! What’s new today? Hope everyone’s having a lovely end to their summer!

Today I wanted to share with you guys a staple meal that I’ve been making a lot lately, and it features two of my favorite veggies: mushrooms and cauliflower! So today we’re making…

Juicy smoky portabellas over garlic thyme cauliflower rice!

I’ve been wanting to do a post on this lil new fave meal of mine because as simple as it is, you just caaaaan’t go wrong with it. Plus, it’s a crowd pleaser and a convo starter being that cauliflower seems to be suuuuuper trendy right now (LOL, only half kidding tho…)

I have always been a huge mushroom lover. How about you guys? I remember not loving them when I was a kid as a vegetarian and then one day, BAM, I realized that mushrooms are God’s delicate and scrumptious gifts to us! They are SO lovely and versatile.

So you know it’s a fancy night in our apartment when my boyfriend Jon and I make something with portabella mushrooms. I don’t know what it is about them, but they feel way more decadent and exciting than regular white mushrooms. Do you get what I mean? They’re just more exciting! Either that or we just REALLY love portabella mushrooms a weird amount…

Anyway, a few weeks ago we had a big head of cauliflower and two huge portabellas in the fridge, and not much else. That’s always my favorite time to cook, when ingredients are limited because you have to get crafty! So I decided to finally try cauliflower rice and season it with my absolute favorite seasoning power couple, garlic and thyme.

Let’s take a sec to talk about how PERFECT garlic and thyme go together. They’re a match made in heaven! Garlic and thyme croutons, garlic and thyme cauliflower rice, garlic and thyme tofu, the list goes on and on of what garlic and thyme go perfectly with!

So before we dive into this recipe, I wanted to throw it out there that this recipe serves one. You know me and my single serve recipes, I love em! Plus, it’s super easy to just multiply the ingredients by however many people you’re serving!

So let’s start with the cauliflower rice first, shall we?

First things first, let’s discuss what “raw cauliflower rice” means. Heads of cauliflower range in size like crazy, so when writing this recipe out, I realized saying “a head of cauliflower” was super vague. So the cauliflower in this recipe is measured in cups of raw, already “rice-like” cauliflower.

In order to prepare your cauliflower to be rice, a food processor is key! What I like to do with the head of cauliflower is break it up into smaller pieces, and pulse in the food processor until the cauliflower semi-resembles rice. I’ll show ya what my raw rice looks like before I cook it:

I’ve read a lot of different methods of making cauliflower rice, and many of them say to “press” your raw rice to remove moisture. The one time I tried that, it was a huuuuuge mess and ever since I haven’t pressed it, and it turns out great! Whatever works for you, do that, but for me no pressing was the way to go.

Alright, so once you have your raw cauliflower rice all set up, heat 1 TB or so of olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the cauliflower, and salt to your liking. I once heard that you should always salt your veggies right when they start cooking, and I’ve done that ever since. Hasn’t failed me yet! Cover the pan with a lid and let the cauliflower steam for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes, remove lid and add more oil as needed. Let the rice get a little brown and crispy, then add thyme, garlic, and pepper. Cook for about 5 more minutes, until the rice is no longer cauliflower white and looks nice and crispy. I like to let my rice get nice and brown, but I’m sure anything ranging from a light to dark tan works just fine.

That’s pretty much it for the cauli-rice! Let’s move on to the…

Juicy smoky portabella mushrooms!

First things first, I always remove the stems from my portabellas (and put them in my “broth bag” in the freezer for later, who doesn’t like a mushroom broth?!) But you can leave the stems on if you like as well, whatever floats your boat! Slice the caps about 1/4 inch thick, or however thick you prefer your mushrooms.

Melt 1 TB or so of your vegan butter in a pan over medium heat, and add sliced portabellas. One thing that I will forever do when making sauteed mushrooms is sautee them in butter as opposed to olive oil. When I first met Jon, he told me that he only ever makes mushrooms with butter and a lot of cumin, and ever since it’s the only way I like my mushrooms. He’s a smart cookie, that one!

Add your soy sauce, liquid smoke, lemon juice, cumin, and balsamic vinegar and toss with a spatula so that all of the portabellas are coated. Saute for about 10 minutes, or until the mushrooms look done.

You can serve this however you’d like, so get crafty with it! I tend to stick to the boring side and opt for a wide bowl where I spoon the rice in first, then place the mushrooms on top. I love putting the mushrooms on the rice because the mushrooms get super juicy and play really well with the cauliflower rice. YUMMM.

One thing I wanted to mention while posting about this recipe is liquid smoke. How many of you have heard of it before? I honestly hadn’t until I got Kristy Turner’s cookbook But I Could Never Go Vegan! (Side note: this is a FUN cookbook. LOT’S of different types of meals that really make you broaden your horizons. I love it!) Back to liquid smoke though, I had never heard of it until I made Kristy’s tempeh bacon, which uses liquid smoke. Liquid smoke is pretty much a liquid concentrate of smoke from burning hickory wood, and it is heavenly. I’m someone who loves when I go outside at night in the summer and my hair starts to smell like a campfire, so liquid smoke is obviously right up my alley. It’s also pretty easy to find in grocery stores, so definitely get yourself a bottle of this ASAP!

This meal is so so so filling, and it’s all veggies! Warning: if you plan on drinking after, maybe get some carbs in ya also cause Jon and I got veryyyyyy tipsy off of just 2 drinks after this deceivingly filling meal. BUT it’s great if you’re someone like me who always feels like a bottomless pit and needs a dump truck amount of food to make you feel full, because this one really does the trick all while being super healthy because it’s all vegetables!

I make all veggie meals like this every day, but something about the way the flavors play off of each other is so amazing that I couldn’t not share this with you guys!!! 2 good 2 b tru ❤

Enjoy and let me know what you guys think, or if there’s anything you think I should add! PEACE OUT ❤

Oh my gosh this sounds AMAZING! I already had soy-saucey portabellos on my mind today after reading about a “portabello BACON lettuce and tomato sandwich,” so now I will really need a portabello fix very soon! Thanks for sharing this!

Meredith – These look amazing!
I tried a quinoa portabello mushroom salad at Nordstorm Cafe with my mom the other day and was lost as to how to recreate the mushrooms at home. I’m definitely using your recipe now! And I am so with you on your mushroom craze. I was the little girl who would eat uncooked mushrooms right off the cutting board as my mom would prepare dinner.